Missouri Officials Drop Investigation of Maneater Editors

Bowing to public pressure and common sense, administrators at the University of Missouri announced they would not continue pursuing an investigation into two top former editors of The Maneater student newspaper. Earlier this week, Mizzou officials sent letters to the former eds. requesting they attend student conduct board hearings focused on their role in the creation of the paper’s recent controversial April Fools’ edition.

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At the start of the month, the Maneater became The Carpeteater. The spoof issue met with severe criticism from some readers for content deemed offensive to women and members of the LGBTQ community. Managing editor Abby Spudich and editor-in-chief Travis Cornejo both resigned amid the controversy that followed its publication. But the school’s subsequent involvement has been deemed a step too far by First Amendment advocates.

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As the SPLC reports, “Earlier Thursday, Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, sent a letter calling on MU to rethink its decision to pursue punishment. ‘While undoubtedly offensive to some readers,’ LoMonte wrote, ‘the content of the parody newspaper indisputably was within the boundaries of the First Amendment.'”